What a great day!!

Hello everyone! Well, I know that this will not be as entertaining as Ryan's posts, but we have good news so I hope that works!

First of all- it has been about 8 hrs. since Ryan and Jake left and I am still alive. I think that is pretty good. Actually, I got to go and just sit for awhile with the babies and it was WONDERFUL!

Mallory is plugging right along, at her own pace mind you. This morning the doctors once again tried to push her a little faster than she is willing to go and she let them know that. They extubated her (removed the breathing tube from her throat) and put her on CPAP. She hated it! After 45 minutes of labored breathing they decided maybe they should intubate her again and give her 2 more days. They also put her on a regular ventilator instead of the occilator that she was on before. The ventilator breathes normal time as opposed to the 400-500 breaths a minute she had on the occilator. She is doing so well on it. Her settings are all very low and she is very comfortable. This makes her mommy very happy!

Dawson is doing great! The swelling in his belly and nose (from the CPAP that he is now weaned off of) has gone down dramatically from the last pictures that were posted. When Ryan gets back on Thursday or Friday he will take somemore pics and you will be able to see the huge difference (by then hopefully he is a little chubbier). Dawson is still on 4 mL of milk every 2 hours and probably will go up to 6 tonight. He is doing so well and seems to love the feeling of having food in his little belly. We hope that he gets some meat on his bones soon, he is a little scrawny and has a lot of loose skin to fill up.

Today was a definate day for mom! I went in and kind of washed their hair (all I had was some sterile water and 2x2 pieces of gauze), then I changed their diapers, took their temperature, and washed their little belly buttons. That was great. I love all the little mommy things that I get to do, which isn't a lot by the way. Today was also the first day that I got to REALLY hold Dawson. When a baby is able to be held they like to do what they call a skin to skin method. That is where they hand him to me and they put his little face on my skin just below my neck. They said that this is very good for them and they tend to really love it (the moms kind of do too). Dawson was so comfortable and loved being so close to me, I loved it too! I just sat and loved him and kissed his little head for about 20 min. As I was talking to him he would open his little eyes and look up at me. It was so much fun! Because he is so little we can only do that once a day for only 20 min. for now. I will definately be there everyday for that, look forward to adding another 20 min of baby holding for Mallory!

All in all it was a really good day. Mallory will continue to go at her own pace, which is wonderful. She is on a steady up hill climb so we won't push her harder than necessary. Dawson has amazed all of the nurses and doctors. A week and a half ago they prepared us to lose him and now he is advancing beyond their expectations (a definate answer to prayer).

I love going to see these sweet little babies. As I look at them, everytime I am amazed and very humbled to think that those two tiny bodies house 2 of our Father in Heavens sweet and very special spirits! They have come here for all of us. Everyone that comes in contact with them through this experience is touched and strengthened. They are teaching us such a great lesson about faith and our Heavenly Fathers love and I am so grateful for the lesson. I am learning so much! What a huge blessing they have been already. I am sure that through their whole lives they will have a lot to teach me, I can't wait!

Take Care. Love- Amy